Indonesia Prepares Orderly Ouster

June 1, 2001|By Mark Landler The New York Times

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia is on course to oust its third leader in three years. But unlike previous political upheavals, which were chaotic and violent, this one is unfolding with remarkable order.

Parliament said Thursday that it would convene a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly on Aug. 1 to consider removing President Abdurrahman Wahid from office. The decision was made a day after the legislators had overwhelmingly voted to begin impeachment proceedings against the president.

The timing scrupulously follows the Constitution, which stipulates that Parliament allow 60 days to prepare for a meeting of the assembly, the highest legislative body.

About 1,000 supporters of Wahid rallied in front of his palace today, demanding that he impose martial law and dissolve Parliament. But that option looked less and less tenable as the security minister and top military generals publicly opposed a state of emergency.

"Issuing a decree in a situation like this is not appropriate, and we hope this decision will not be taken," Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after meeting military officers.

As the likelihood of a drastic response by Wahid waned, his supporters began dispersing, boarding trains for the president's home province, East Java. The anger has also largely petered out in East Java, where police officers and soldiers have clashed with Wahid's loyalists for three days.

"The legislators were very concerned about provoking violence, so they must be feeling quite relieved," said Harold Crouch, an Indonesia expert at the Australian National University who lives here. "But the final stage will be the most difficult, if they decide to sack him."

Few people see much chance for compromise between the president and the implacably hostile Parliament. Wahid, who once referred to the legislators as a crowd of kindergartners, ostensibly believes that they have overreached their authority. He has not even responded to Parliament's vote, brushing aside questions about it at a summit meeting of developing nations. Still, Wahid is allowing the process to grind on.